Travel/car seat help

[mladerri]

Warning: not about my current pregnancy and long winded.

I will be doing a lot of travel soon with two year old ds and I'm torn on what I should do about his car seat. He will need a car seat and I don't want to rent one because we've done it in the past and they are pretty awful car seats.

He uses a Recaro proride on a daily basis, but I think it'd be way too heavy for me to lug through the airport and too big for the plane seat. I also can't find a travel bag that fits with it. I also read that seats get beat up if you check them so I'm thinking I'll have him sit in the car seat on the plane (he's always sat on my lap bc he was under two).

Internet people suggest buying a cosco scenera for $40. My concern is safety and I feel like why would I risk putting my son in a $40 seat when he rides in a $250 seat on a daily basis. His chances of being in an accident are just as likely. Anyone have any suggestions or can someone just say stop being crazy and get the cheap seat and move on. Thanks!

[sandandsea]

The $40 and $250 seats go through and pass the same federal tests. The $250 is likely to last longer be extended rear facing and have other "perks" that make it more attractive but aren't really safety related.

I would buy a travel car seat for $40. We have three seats- one in each of our cars and one we use for travel. The travel and my car are both britax and DH has a radian in his car.

[mladerri]

Thanks sandandsea what britax do you use for travel? Do you check it or put in the plane seat?

[packerfan4life]

We have the Recaro for our main car and a cosco scenario for our 2nd car. They all have to go through the same safety testing. The main difference as far as I can tell is in the extras and comfort add ons

[sandandsea]

Dec 6, 2015 22:23:00 GMT -5 mladerri said:

Thanks sandandsea what britax do you use for travel? Do you check it or put in the plane seat?

We check it now that he's 3.  When DS was younger, we would use it on the flights, but it proved to be such a hassle to take through the airport, install, and was so bulky during the flight, that we stopped after a few flights.  And really, if something seriously goes wrong during a flight, I don't think a carseat vs seatbelt will make much of a difference truthfully.  I'm okay with the slightly higher risk of not using it during the flight.   DS has also always been an excellent flier so having his own carseat for comfort was never needed and he much preferred the airplane seat.

We have the Britax Boulevard.  We got them in 2012 so I don't know if they even still make the same one.

[origamimommy]

mladerri I have friends that run a car seat safety business and they recommend this seat for traveling if the child is forward facing. It is very safe and very affordable. Let me know if you have any extra questions, but they love this seat for people on a budget and travel!!

[mladerri]

packerfan4life origamimommy thank you!!

sandandsea ds would most likely prefer to sit like a big boy in the seat as well! Thanks so much for the feedback.

[Flair Underwood]

Would one of those things that is kind of like a handcart work for you?

like this? www.amazon.com/Go-Go-Babyz-QRKIDZ-Travelmate-Black/dp/B000JJK9EY/ref=pd_sim_75_7?ie=UTF8&dpID=41I%2BkwUztgL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR133%2C160_&refRID=1Q7VY7KQSZJP856WW1T2

[soultrane]

I typed something out and then chrome crashed - ugh. But something worth checking out for the plane is the Cares harness. It's easy to transport and is a lot easier to manage than the car seat on the plane. They're pretty pricey but there are places that will rent them so it might be worth checking out!

[nymama917]

We travel a decent amount with our daughter and if we rent a car we always bring our car seat. We have the Britax Marathon but I will say that it's pretty heavy to carry and does not fit through the xray machine. It's not a big deal but they have to hand check it through security. We purchased the wheels (link below) and it's been pretty great. It allows you to pull your kid in the car seat on the wheels so we can use it as a stroller throughout the airport. I have traveled alone with her using the car seat and wheels (no stroller) and was able to manage it fine. The wheels fold up really small and are really light. I should also mention the wheels are adaptable to any brand car seat that uses the latch system.

We have not checked the car seat, but we also do not install on the plane. We installed the car seat once and it made her legs long enough to kick the seat in front of her. She wasn't kicking it like crazy but since her feet reached she kept putting her feet on the back of the seat and pushing which I'm sure was annoying for the person in front of her. After that trip we decided to just let them tag it plane side so that we can have it up until the flight and immediately after. I figure there is much less transport so it wouldn't get beat up as bad. The last time we flew we had them tag the car seat and the umbrella stroller and it was perfect. We also carried on a bag each so they don't count against that.

As far as risk of her not being in the car seat I figured if I was willing to have her as a lap child for the first 2 years then this isn't any worse. I didnt feel that the car seat was installed very tightly with the plane seat belt anyway so it just seemed like more hassle than it was worth. She loves sitting in the big plane seat too so she was happy.

If we didn't live in a tiny apartment in NY I would consider buying a cheaper seat just for travel but we don't have the space to store it, so for now this option works great for us.

www.target.com/p/britax-car-seat-travel-cart/-/A-13739487?ci_src=17588969&ci_sku=13739487&ref=tgt_adv_XS000000&AFID=google_pla_df&CPNG=PLA_Baby%2BShopping&adgroup=SC_Baby&LID=700000001170770pgs&network=g&device=c&location=9004064&gclid=Cj0KEQiA-ZSzBRDp3ITHm5KO_JYBEiQA1JjHHG_eD6KtQ9qKcba-JhTYs84QXGQD42jvgFi3iDPBOlkaAguu8P8HAQ&gclsrc=aw.ds

[csat]

We traveled in November with our almost 3yo DS. It was a multiple destination trip. We never took the carseat on the plane with us and I'm glad we didn't, DS did so much better in the seat with more room. There's no way he would have fit in the carseat without his feet touching the seat in front of us.

Point A to B: Gate checked the car seat. I've also heard that you shouldn't check the seat with luggage due to potential for damage but it was a huge pain in the arse carrying that seat through security and the airport with all of our other stuff

Point B to C: Very small airport, we decided to make our lives easier and check the seat with the rest of our luggage, we didn't even bother to wrap it

Point C to A: Big airport, same as above but they gave us a nice big heavy duty plastic cover when we checked the seat

Alternatively we considered gate checking and using this but it seemed expensive for the amount we would use it...
www.amazon.com/Britax-Seat-Travel-Cart-Black/dp/B005CNEQK0/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1449511808&sr=8-2&keywords=carseat+airport+roller

[shan]

We LOVE the go go kidz thing for travel. Love. You need one.

Also, i put her in a carseat on the plane bc I don't like checking it. If absolutely necessary, I would gate check. I found a big red bag on Amazon that would fit any seat. It was like $9.

DD does so much better when she's strapped into a seat. It feels like a car and she's much better behaved and will sleep.

[regal]

I've only traveled once but used the Scenera for my then 10mo. It was perfect. I does have difficulty installing rear facing if you need a noodle because of the way the base is made. There is a newer version (Scenera Next) that doesn't have this problem.

We only used it for the plane and cab rides to and from the airport.

How big is your son?

[mladerri]

regal shan csat nymama917 soultrane Flair Underwood thank you! All the information is so helpful. I didn't even think of gate checking with the stroller. I'm traveling by myself with him so it'd be a lot to carry but that little cart thing looks perfect.

[sandandsea]

We check it but we did buy a travel bag that has a solid base and canvas case to protect it. It also has wheels and a strap so it's easier to lug around.

[manybellsdown]

Dec 7, 2015 19:27:50 GMT -5 mladerri said:

regal shan csat nymama917 soultrane Flair Underwood thank you! All the information is so helpful. I didn't even think of gate checking with the stroller. I'm traveling by myself with him so it'd be a lot to carry but that little cart thing looks perfect.

Get the cart thing for sure if you are going by yourself. I just did it in October and it's the easiest.

Plus people are amazed by "the things these days" as you wheel your kid and car seat through the airport.

I got the evenflo tribute for the same reasons as you'd get the scenera. I was eased by the federal safety standards. And it's just SO much lighter and easier to manage than the britax that doesn't leave our car. I couldn't imagine traveling with the britax.

The other thing I was going to mention is that my kid actually does better in the car seat on the plane than the big seats. Yes, her feet touch the seat in front of her, but she was amenable to reminders not to kick. But mostly--she "gets" sitting in a car seat and she was cool to chill there for the whole flight. When she had the whole seat to herself, she didn't want to stay, she wanted on my lap, she wanted to walk around, etc. etc. Just another perspective.

[mladerri]

Since I'm buying the seat on Walmart I'm going to have it shipped directly to my first destination! I'm only traveling alone the first leg so that'll help with my carrying load. Then I think I'll just gate check it the rest of the way since I'll have someone with me to carry it.

manybellsdown I like to hear different opinions and perspectives. I'm torn on how I think ds would do in the seat on the plane. I do have a feeling I'll have a lap child half the time!